Cake of the Month - Everyday Fruit Cake

A fiftieth birthday surely warrants a cake of special magnificence.

 Layers, icing, gold smarties, sparklers and chocolate.

When I asked Charlie what kind of cake he wanted for his big birthday he said;

'That fruit cake you do, not the dark Christmas one the lighter one',

'What, the everyday fruit cake?'

'Yes'

''No chocolate, layers or icing?'

'No thanks'

'Sad face'.

But, it isn't my fiftieth birthday. Yet. Happy face.

On your fiftieth birthday you should have the cake you like best, so I made him an everyday fruit cake.

This recipe is super-easy. I can't remember where I got it from but it is a fairly standard British recipe.

It's very tasty, excellent in the lunch box and doesn't make your teeth ache.

Everyday Fruit Cake

Grease and base line an 8'' (20cm) loose-bottomed  deep cake tin.

In a large bowl mix all of the following ingredients together. Electric beaters make this an easy task.

8 oz soft butter

8 oz light brown soft sugar

8 oz self-raising flour

4 large eggs

1 tsp mixed spice

Next fold in

1 tbsp brandy (optional)

1½ lbs dried fruit -I used 4 oz glacé cherries (rinsed and quartered), 4 oz candied peel, 8 oz sultanas, 4 oz chopped dried apricots and 4 oz raisins (something like that anyway)

225 g is approximately 8 oz

  

Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake at 150°c (130°c fan oven) for 2 -2¼ hours. A skewer should come out clean when inserted into the cake. 

Cover the cake with baking parchment after one hour to prevent it becoming too brown.